Ossining Students Learn about New Tappan Zee Bridge, Build Their Own Bridges

One of the first things that teacher Micki Lockwood did in her fourth-grade enrichment class at Claremont School one day in November was to check the New NY Bridge website. She pulled up a photo of the new construction viewing platform in Rockland County and demonstrated how children could compare current and past webcam views to monitor the new bridge’s progress.

Ms. Lockwood marveled that the piers for the new bridge were almost completed on the Rockland side. “That’s a lot of cement to pour,” one student said. “Look how much they’ve done,” a classmate added.

Children in Lockwood’s Math Circles fourth-grade classes are studying engineering and the five different types of bridges during the 2015-16 school year. Math Circles students tackle topics that are tied to science, technology, engineering and math, also known as STEM. The classes focus heavily on the $3.9 billion structure that is under construction in their own backyard.

“I chose to teach this based on student interest,” Lockwood said. “They are always asking to build, construct, design and use technology. In fourth grade, they study New York state, so with this amazing project going on, it all just fit so neatly together.”

In October, she organized a visit from Andrew O’Rourke and Daniel Marcy of the New NY Bridge’s Outreach Team to educate children on the five-year project.

“I thought it was amazing. We got a lot of information from that guy,” said student Christopher Slack, referring to Marcy, a New York Thruway Authority community relations specialist.

Several minutes into the class in November, the six students resumed their work on bridge models they were building with plastic cups for piers and oak tag for the bridge span. The two teams had a task manager/presenter, a lead engineer and a supplies engineer.

“How much weight will it hold?” Lockwood asked. “See how many cars your bridge can hold before it sags or breaks down.”

Students Emma Bruckman and Daisy Monge decided not to put any “piers” below the center of their beam bridge so boats could pass underneath. The other team sacrificed that nautical convenience for a sturdier span. The girls said they were enjoying the project. “It’s actually interesting to build something,” Daisy said. “I never knew math could be fun.”

Elian Tampus, who was on the other team, said it was “way more fun than I thought it would be.”

The new Tappan Zee Bridge will be a cable-stayed bridge in the center anchored by beam bridges connecting the bridge to the shorelines. During the school year, the students will also be learning about arch, suspension and movable bridges.

Fellow student Mauricio Lopez, who was in Elian’s group, said he enjoys the class. “I like to learn and I like that Mrs. Lockwood makes it even more fun,” he said.

During Marcy’s presentation in October, he explained that the Tappan Zee Bridge was completed in 1955 and has outlived its life-expectancy. The new span will have eight 12-foot-wide lanes, shoulders and a path for pedestrians and cyclists, and it will be mass transit-ready.

The children had many questions for Marcy, such as what will happen to the old bridge, why the new one takes so long to build and if it will be able to withstand a tornado. He noted that the Brooklyn Bridge took nearly 15 years to complete in the 1800s and it is two miles shorter than the Tappan Zee Bridge’s 3.1 miles.

Lockwood said the hands-on learning in Math Circles “brings kids joy.”

“We are learning,” she said, “but most importantly we are having fun, discussing, debating and building with interesting materials, from cups and poster board for beam bridges to marshmallows with toothpicks and tons of Popsicle sticks. Everyone comes so motivated to class each week.”